Virtual Race Can Win You A Real Car

Remember the recent hyperlocal, customized direct-mail campaign created by
Lowe Roche, Toronto for its client Pfaff Auto? Driven by its success, the agency crafted another campaign for the car dealership, this time using Twitter as its main medium.

The Pfaff Tweet Race is a virtual race for Twitter users to gain 2,500 new Twitter followers, on top of how many they currently have. At stake is a 2013 Audi A4 with
a one-year lease and tuning package worth $5,000.

The race started Aug. 27 and will last for two months, or whenever 10 Twitter users add 2,500 additional followers -- whichever comes
first.

To enter, Twitter users must sign in with their
Twitter account at PfaffTweetRace.com. Each contestants’ progress can be viewed on the site, in true racecar fashion: top players are shown on a racetrack, marking their progress and distance
from the finish line. So far, eight players have accrued the necessary 2,500 new followers, with two empty spots remaining.

Once there are 10 qualifiers, each will receive a key at a special
event. Nine keys are duds and one opens the door to an Audi A4.

Currently, there are 234 racers playing. One participant gained more than 6,800 new followers in a 24-hour period.

“We wanted to make it a challenge, but still a manageable
amount,” said Simon Craig, copywriter at Lowe Roche. “2,500 followers for a 2013 Audi A4 seemed like a fair trade.”

The contest is being promoted via print ads in Canadian
pub The National Post and in-house at Pfaff Auto using headlines like: “Update your status with status” and “You’ll want to follow yourself.”

“The
goals are to bring visibility and drive traffic to the dealership, and to increase their social media presence,” continued Craig. “The only beef is that the contest is only open to Ontario
residents.”

“The only beef is that the contest is only open to Ontario residents.”
Also: only for people 25 years old and older.
A cool idea but it's so discouraging for the average person who can't just quit his day job and spend every waking hour trying to gain followers--and then you're one of 10 people where only 1 has the real key.
Good marketing, but there are a lot of losers in this race.